Pros and Cons to an Electric Vehicle

10 Jan Pros and Cons to an Electric Vehicle

When you begin to think about going green, one of the biggest questions is whether to switch your car from the traditional gas to an electrical vehicle. There are many factors involved in making that decision and every year the switch to EV gets easier and easier, especially with NV Energy’s new time of us incentives and 30% rebate program. We have compiled a few of the biggest questions to help you make the right decision for your green energy future.

EV batteries are worse for the environment than gas.

Though electric vehicles produce more emissions during their manufacturing than a traditional car, they easily make up for those emissions once they hit the road. From manufacturing to disposal electric vehicles produce 50% less emissions than a traditional gas car, this includes the battery which can now be recycled or reused.

Recycling EV batteries used to be extremely difficult, but new technologies and reuse methods make EV batteries cleaner than ever.

It will cost me the same in electricity to charge my electric vehicle as I pay for in gas.

If an electrical vehicle holds about 32 kWh for 100 miles of driving, the average cost to charge your EV will be about $3.30 for a full charge if the cost per kWh is 11 cents which is the pricing here in Las Vegas. Considering that a normal gas car with decent efficiency can go about 25 mpg at say $3 per gallon of gas. An electric vehicle goes about 4x farther for a quarter of the price. Yes your electric bill will go up if you are charging at home, but the overall price will still be significantly less than your biweekly gas fill-up.

Electric Vehicles can’t do longer road trips.

This is a decent point. Because EV charging stations aren’t located every few miles like a gas station is, this can make that cross country road trip seem like an impossibility. The good news is as more people buy electric vehicles the more charging stations will be available. Worried about the charge time? Older model cars with a standard charger can take a toll on your travel time, but the newer models like the Tesla Model S charge faster and go for longer distances than the previous models. The Model S at a supercharger station can add 300 miles of travel in about an hour. You can even see the full map of supercharger stations on the Tesla site, showing that your summer road trip will only need to stop every few hours for just enough time to grab a bite to eat.

Want to have an extra save guard? Some electric vehicles come with an emergency gas backup, just in case you want that extra security that your car won’t be stopping any time soon.

To conclude, electric vehicles are the way to a greener, less polluted future and their capabilities are getting exponentially better with each new version. Mixing your electric vehicle with a solar system makes your EV not only more energy efficient but also more affordable by limiting the power you need to buy to charge it. Plus, who doesn’t want to power their car with the sun?